The World Undone
by futurejelly
Summary: This is a sequel to When the World Falls Down. Jareth has Sarah back in the Underground, but she isn't the Sarah he fell in love with. Can he wait for her to grow into the woman he loves, or will Jareth revert back to his old, selfish ways? When it becomes a choice between his kingdom and Sarah, Jareth has to decide what kind of king he wants to be.
1. Chapter 1

**This is a sequel to my story When the World Falls Down. I would recommend at least reading the last chapter of that story before you read this one. **

**Rated T for now, but that might change.**

_Will you really take me there?_

_Yes… but you have to wish it._

""""

"Ach, if I gotta kill one more fairy today, I'm gonna go tell that spiky-haired bully that I quit, bog be damned," the dwarf mumbles. He doesn't mean a word, of course. His fear of the bog goes far deeper than his annoyance at a swarm of fairies. Truthfully, Hoggle doesn't mind this part of the job. The fairies are still mostly asleep in the dim light of dawn, only one or two venturing out into the dangerous path of the dwarf. Hoggle's warm breath escapes his mouth into the chilly air and he watches as the steam disappears. Dawn is his favorite time of the day, mostly because of the silence. It's so quiet that sometimes Hoggle can hear the distant screech of some Firey out in the forest. He grunts in satisfaction as his stream of poison takes down another winged nuisance. "Sixty-six," he says smugly to himself. He stands for a moment and listens to the silence. Two shadowy silhouettes appear on the hillside, the red sun of the Underground behind them masking their features.

A soft gasp from the hill makes Hoggle turn. He hears a girl's voice say, "Oh, it's just how I pictured it!" Hoggle squints his eyes at the hill, trying to make out who stands there. _A runner? _No, a runner definitely wouldn't sound excited. At least, one never has before. Plus, no one came to tell him there was a runner coming.

"Nobody tells me nothin'," he grumbles.

As he swats a particularly angry fairy off his ear, he hears Jareth's amused voice. "I had a feeling you might like it."

_Just what in the damn red beard of a giant is goin' on here? _Hoggle's eyebrows lower so much that his eyes almost disappear. He squints even further in suspicion before he realizes he can't see. He blinks a few times in anger, his fallback emotion for whenever he feels uncertain. Not that he would admit it. As he glares toward the hill, he hears Jareth say, "This is the Southern edge of my kingdom, the Labyrinth being the outer barrier."

"And that's the castle beyond the Goblin City?" He sees the smaller silhouette point.

"Yes. Come, Sarah, there is much more to see."

"Hmph. Good riddance," Hoggle says to himself, once again swatting a fairy away from his ear, catching it with his poison spray as it stumbles backward in midair. He chuckles as it falls. "Now you lot deserve that, yankin' on folk's ears and whatnot."

Hoggle listens for the familiar pop of Jareth disappearing, but it doesn't come. Instead, he hears, "Wait! Who is that down there?"

_Oh damn, no no no! Go away! _Hoggle glances backward to see the girl scurry down the hill, heading in his direction. Once she notices him looking at her, she raises a hand to wave. "Gah!" he growls. He turns his back on her and whips his head back and forth looking for a place to hide, but it's no good.

The second he lifts his foot to run, she comes to a stop behind him and says, "Hello!"

Hoggle groans. "Listen, I don't know what you want, but I'm just doin' my job here." As he turns, he catches sight of Jareth approaching behind the girl and quickly backpedals so that his back slams against the Labyrinth wall. "Your majesty! I'm tryin' to work so this ain't my fault."

Sarah holds a hand out to the dwarf and says, "Hey, you're not in trouble. I just wanted to talk to you."

Hoggle stays glued to his spot against the wall, his eyes on the Goblin King. Once Jareth reaches Sarah's side, he stops and places a hand on her shoulder. He looks down at the dwarf, the conflict plain in his eyes. He sees Hoggle shudder.

Jareth wonders over his predicament. He loves Sarah, more than he ever thought possible. The Sarah he knew is gone, but she grew from the girl on whose shoulder his hand is resting. This Sarah has a place in her heart for the dwarf, just as the previous Sarah did. He knows Hoggle will love her, too. He thinks how strange it is to feel a sort of kinship with the little creature. He will always be grateful for the love the dwarf showed Sarah when she needed a friend… but she doesn't belong to the dwarf. Losing her has made Jareth realize that he wants her in every way. He wants all of her. He wants her body, her soul, and her heart. All of it. Yes, he lost her, but now he has her again. She changed him forever and now he can keep her. No struggle for power, no enemy fighting to kill them. She's his- completely and forever. Not even this dwarf will get a piece of what belongs to Jareth.

"Oh do pull yourself together, Hogbum," he says with a smirk.

Hoggle's wide eyes dart from Jareth to the girl. "Hoggle," he murmurs.

"Hoggle?" Sarah says with a kind smile. "My name is Sarah."

"Er…" Hoggle looks at Jareth for permission, but his stomach drops at the icy stare he gets from his king.

His eyes still on Hoggle, Jareth says with a smile, "Sarah, I need to discuss something with the fellow. Would you mind waiting here for a moment?"

Sarah steps from beneath Jareth's hand and stands before him with narrowed eyes, her arms crossed. "You're not going to yell at him, are you? After all, _I_ interrupted _him_."

Jareth glances at Sarah, but doesn't miss the incredulity on Hoggle's face. The dwarf isn't used to anyone, human or otherwise, sticking up for him._ How clever of you, Sarah, _Jareth thinks. "No, my sweet," he says, pushing sincerity into his words. "He's the gamekeeper, I merely want to discuss the jump in the fairy population."

Sarah nods at him, her face stern. Jareth chuckles inwardly at her show of concern for Hoggle. He can see how she won over his citizens when she ran the Labyrinth. _She_ believes that he won't "yell" at Hoggle, but the dwarf isn't so easily fooled. He knows his king. As Jareth's hand clamps onto his small shoulder, Hoggle winces. His feet slam into stone and he looks around to see that he and Jareth are within the walls of the Labyrinth.

Before Jareth has a chance to say anything, Hoggle whimpers, "Your majesty, I was doin' just as you told me to, I never meant to stop workin', but she came right up to me!"

Jareth kneels down so that his face is level with Hoggle's. "Listen closely, Hogwart, because I'm only going to tell you once. You are never to talk to Sarah again; do you hear me? She is to be given the same amount of respect and deference that you are _supposed _to show to me. This means that you are not her equal. Even if she initiates conversation with you, you are not to… get close to her. Understood?"

Hoggle can't remember ever being more confused. Not only has he never seen a human Underground that wasn't running the Labyrinth, but he's never seen Jareth so protective of another person. In fact, he can't remember even seeing Jareth _with _another person. He gulps at the intense expression on his king's face and nods at him. Not getting close to a human is nothing new for Hoggle. He's never really been close to anyone, for that matter. He isn't about to break his streak now.

Jareth stands and smirks down at Hoggle. "Good," he says before disappearing with a pop, leaving Hoggle to curse at being left in the middle of the Labyrinth.

""""

Jareth took his time the rest of the day showing Sarah around his kingdom. He avoided the Labyrinth; there's enough to see without unnecessarily showing the girl some of the darker aspects of his lands. He sits with her on the edge of the forest and watches her mind try to process everything she's seen. It doesn't take long- Jareth knew it wouldn't. She's always been so open, so accepting of all things fantastic and magical. It's what made her such a great queen. What _will _make her a great queen. He leans back against a thick tree trunk, bringing one knee up and encircling it with his threaded fingers, the picture of contentment. Sarah sits in front of him and to the right, her legs held up against her chest with her chin resting on her knees.

_ Content. _He never knew he could feel such contentment. Just thinking about the future he'll share with Sarah, it's almost worth the past few months. _His_ past few months, anyway. Without his willing it, Jareth's mind returns to that day on the battlefield when he saw Sarah fall before him. How he held her as her life spilled out of her. He winces and fixes his stare on Sarah's smile. _She's here. She's here with me. _Nothing would ever make him let her go again. A soft sigh from her lips brings him back to the present.

"Do you like it?" he asks.

She turns her head to fix him with a blinding smile that takes his breath away. "Your majesty, it's incredible. I've always wanted… _something _to happen. But I never imagined it would be this amazing, or beautiful."

"Jareth."

"…What?"

"My name is Jareth. I'd like you to use it."

He expects her to blush and he hopes that she'll give him that shy smile he loves so much. Instead, she looks at him in confusion. "Can I ask you something?" she says. He nods. "Why are you doing this?"

A surprised laugh escapes him. "Whatever do you mean?"

"I mean, you're not supposed to be nice. You're supposed to be tricky, and mischevious, and self-centered, and temperamental… I'm just surprised."

"Would you like me to be those things?" he asks with a smirk.

She finally smiles again. "I guess not."

He cocks his head at her. "Forgive me, my dear, if I think you a little disappointed in me."

Sarah drops her head to look at the ground. She plays with a blade of grass as she answers, "I think maybe I am. Which doesn't make sense…" She narrows her eyes at him. "You never answered my question."

"I find my questions more interesting."

She giggles. "That's true for everyone, but that's not how conversations work!"

He sighs in mock defeat. "I suppose you're right; what was the question again?"

"Was my book wrong about you, or are you acting differently for me?" She raises her eyes to peer up at him through her lashes. She finds him studying her intently and immediately drops her gaze again.

Jareth doesn't want to lie to her, but he doesn't want to scare her either. She doesn't have the kind of love for him that he has for her, at least not yet. He runs a gloved finger back and forth across his lips as he decides how he'll answer her. "I won't lie to you, Sarah. Your book wasn't wrong about me. I rarely do anything that is not in my own best interest. However… you are different."

He can see her breathing quicken and can hear her heart race. His own speeds up in response. "Why?" she whispers, her eyes still on the ground.

"Do you want to hear a story, Sarah?" he says slowly. She stays silent, waiting. "I once fell in love with a girl who ran my Labyrinth. She was strong, beautiful, and loyal. She won the hearts of my goblins and beat my Labyrinth, winning back her baby brother from the evil Goblin King. As she ran through the maze, I fell more and more deeply in love with her. When she reached my castle, I offered her everything I had to offer. What do you think happened?" Sarah shakes her head. "She refused. She took her brother, and most of my citizens, and went back to her home Aboveground. But that wasn't the last time I saw her…" Jareth recounts their whole story to Sarah. The surrealistic notion of recounting their love story to the very woman whom it's about is not lost on Jareth. Sarah listens, enraptured, to the story. Without realizing it, her heart softens even more towards the Goblin King. When Jareth reaches Sarah's death, he has to keep his eyes glued to hers in order to keep himself from sinking into despair. He has to keep her in his sights, or he's lost to the memory of her growing cold in his arms.

Sarah's eyes fill with tears as she hears the pain in Jareth's voice. He's nearing the funeral. He wonders if he'll stop, if he'll keep himself from revealing to her exactly why he treats her so differently. Just as he's about to say it, that he wished to return to the night she wished away her brother, a cold, slender hand touches his face. He freezes and searches her eyes for what she's feeling. He leans toward her and studies her expression. He sees sympathy, sadness, and… warmth? He's wondering what that means when his favorite blush creeps across her face. Her face is nearing his and he can't believe it. No, she's too young; she can't understand what she's doing. Can she? When Sarah's soft lips touch his, all rational thought leaves him. He brings his hand up to cup the side of her face and exhales in a sigh against her mouth. He parts his lips and moves his hand to tangle in the hair at the nape of her neck.

He knows it's wrong, he knows it's too much for her. She's already pulling away, but he can't stop. "Let go, Sarah," he whispers against her lips. He feels her stiffen in his arms, so he holds her tighter, willing her to give in. He knows she feels it, she just doesn't know how to allow those feelings to release. He can help her.

"Jareth," she gasps. Whether in refusal or passion, he doesn't know. He can't bring himself to care. He finally has her in his arms again and he can't let go. He's about to let his lips still on her frozen ones, until she parts them. Young as she is, she acknowledges to herself that she likes this, that she's feeling something wonderful. When he feels Sarah open up to him, Jareth plunges his tongue into her mouth, stroking and coaxing. He's gentle with her, but can't completely hide his need. This kiss is different from that first one in his bedroom after she'd been poisoned by the rose. Then, she had no inhibitions- she was all desire. This time, Sarah is nervous, hesitant. Her mouth follows his instead of dancing with it. The wind shifts and blows Sarah's hair into Jareth's face and he smells the scent of her shampoo. He stiffens. _Not right, _he thinks. Her hair is supposed to smell like strawberries, not some strange mix of soaps and chemicals. It's this thought that finally brings him back to himself. He pulls his lips away from hers and looks at her in shock. With her wide eyes and swollen lips, she looks so young. Jareth remembers a Sarah overtaken with passion, a woman who wanted nothing more than a man's touch. His touch. This Sarah isn't ready for that.

Jareth clenches his jaw, silently cursing himself for a fool. He knew he would have to wait for her to mature, and he almost took her right here on the edge of the forest, not one day after she arrived. Sarah sits up straighter and nervously runs her fingers through her hair.

Jareth reaches out to brush her cheek with his thumb. "I'm sorry, Precious. I'm afraid I got carried away."

She doesn't say anything, just looks at him with that wide-eyed look. There is lust in there, but there's also trepidation and a hint of fear. Jareth sighs, hating himself a little, which is still an unfamiliar emotion for him. He forces a gentle smile onto his face.

"What would you say to seeing my castle?"

**No, that's not a euphemism. Ok, so ends chapter one of my sequel to When the World Falls Down! I have a plot worked out for this story, but I don't think it will be as long as the first one. I just want to get their new lives all sorted out and then I'll leave them to it. Next chapter will bring more of an explanation of Jareth's behavior and motivations, so stay tuned!**

**I'm finding this story really hard to write because Jareth is now more sensitive and Sarah is now much less mature, and a lot younger as a result. So I have to write them pretty differently than before. How does it feel?**

**I need your reviews!**


	2. Truths

With his hand wrapped around Sarah's small one, Jareth takes them to the castle. He shows her every room, but notices she's much more reserved. In the city, she was beaming and greeting every goblin she saw. Now, she still looks around her in wonder, but her excitement has visibly diminished. Sarah hasn't been able to look Jareth in the eye since their encounter in the forest. Each time he would try to work out what she's feeling, she would blush and look away from him. It was extremely frustrating and Jareth's mood started to sour with every excited exclamation she did not utter at some wonder of his castle.

Jareth was certain the Escher room would elicit a response from Sarah. Regardless of their history there, it is a wonder of magical achievement. Her eyes do widen at the sight, but still she remains silent. Jareth clenches his jaw and quickly turns on his heel out of the room. He hears Sarah follow, but doesn't turn around. Once the light filtering through the windows starts to disappear, Jareth turns to Sarah and says, with a noticeable edge in his voice, "You must be exhausted, Precious."

"Why do you call me that?" Finally, she looks up at him.

Jareth is taken aback by the question and says without thinking, "I've always called—" he snaps his mouth shut. Sarah's eyes narrow at him and he wants so badly to tell her everything. He's so tired of carrying the weight of the information. He only keeps silent because of fear of her rejection, that she'll be overwhelmed and run from it. He almost convinces himself that she'll understand. That she'll accept the wonderful things he can do with his magic and try to comfort him like she would have before.

Sarah looks at him with blatant suspicion and he feels the stirrings of anger. _What right has she to look at me like that? Haven't I given her everything? _Sarah takes a deep breath and says, "Jareth, I want to know why you brought me here. You never really gave me an answer."

Jareth's frustrations boil over and spill out of him, "Sarah, I could give you all manner of answers. I could tell you that you piqued my interest from the first time I saw you play-acting in that park. That your acceptance and even expectation of all things magical was so refreshingly new and exciting for me that I wanted nothing more than for you to call upon me those years ago." He sees her face fill with confusion and he realizes he made a slip, but he can't stop. He's exhausted from keeping it all from her and she isn't grateful for his struggle at all. He's lost control over himself, something Sarah has always been able to make him do. "I could tell you that when you called on me to take your brother last night, it wasn't the first time—" Jareth blinks and realizes he's no longer standing in the hallway of his castle. The air is musty and still and he's surrounded by darkness, until a blinding light appears behind him, illuminating the oubliette.

_No!_ Jareth's hands curl into fists and he spins around to look at the beautiful woman behind him. "How dare you rip me out here without my permission!"

The glow around the woman intensifies so that Jareth has to raise his hand to shield his eyes. If he were human, he would probably have been blinded. Her smooth voice is hard with anger as she says, "The very fact that I could summon you here is a testament to how unstable your control is. What in the name of the gods are you doing, Jareth? How could you do this?"

"What are you talking about?" he spits at her. "And dim yourself, I can't see a thing!"

The light only grows brighter. "I'm an extension of your magic, Jareth, do you think I wouldn't know? You deliberately tore the fabric of time and rearranged it to suit you."

Jareth stands completely still from shock. He finally swallows the surprise and says, "I did it for Sarah."

The light finally dims and he lowers his hand to see the Labyrinth seething at him. She looks just as she always has, her dark skin standing out in beautiful contrast with the gold of her hair and her dress. Her face is twisted in anger and loathing as she says, "You did it for _you. _Don't you dare pretend that you were thinking only of Sarah when you are the only one benefiting."

Jareth gives her one hard laugh. "You think she would have benefited more from remaining dead?"

"Yes! Though I would have considered your actions justifiable had you left her _alone _after tearing apart time to bring her back, given her a life in which she could have actually been content. Then, at least, you could have still been a great king, and she could have grown out of her childish obsession and lived a fulfilling life as a human!"

"I am a great king!" he snarls at her.

"You _were_. When Sarah was killed, I felt the change in you. All your love for her was ready for another outlet and you would have poured it into making this kingdom great. Then your selfish mind twisted the world so that she was given life again. And what did you do with it? You tricked her into returning to the scene of her death and, if you have your way, you'll trick her into loving you."

"Why does it even matter for you? You have no love for Sarah, what do you gain by telling me to leave her alone?"

"It matters to me because you are a substandard king with her at your side. Your every attention is focused on her when it should be focused on your people..." her face twists into one of disappointment. "You hold such disdain for this kingdom. You see the goblins and think them annoying and that the magic is wasted on them because you can't think past your own arrogance. This kingdom is the gateway between realms and the link between the human consciousness and all things magical. That is a heavy responsibility, one you cannot fathom when your head is filled with Sarah." The labyrinth throws her hands up in frustration.

"If you were any other being, I would kill you for such insolence."

"Then you would kill me for speaking true. She is not even the woman you love. She is a child."

Jareth gives her a mischievous grin. "Come, Labyrinth, you have only to look at her to know she is not a child."

The Labyrinth shakes her head at him in disgust. "She _is _a child. What's worse is that you know it. We are linked, Jareth, and I know what you are feeling. You think you can mold her into the woman you loved, but you can't give Sarah the experiences she had before. The woman you loved learned self-sacrifice, responsibility for other beings, and how to rule. And she did it on her own. These things are lost to her now. You've destroyed everything she was, and in so doing, have destroyed yourself. Fix this before you destroy the kingdom, too."

Jareth's mind rebels against her words. Denials run through him and he tells himself that he's too powerful for this to be true. He's the man who won the Goblin Throne. He loves Sarah… but what does that mean? Does he love Sarah, or the woman she became after she ran his Labyrinth and saved his kingdom? He tries to tell himself that it doesn't matter, that she's the same person. But she isn't. Jareth's face twists in grief as he sees the truth of her words. "What would you have me do?" he growls.

"Give her up."

Jareth slams his fist against the wall of the oubliette, causing dust and pebbles to fall to the floor. "I won't! I will not lose her again!"

The Labyrinth looks at him with a look of pity and sadness. "Then it is as I feared. Perhaps this kingdom would have been better with Laran on the throne."

Jareth glares at her with pure fury. A crystal forms in his hand and he's about to throw it at her calm face when he blinks to find himself in the same hallway in which he was standing with Sarah. She's gone, probably looking for him in another part of the castle. Jareth takes a moment to calm down. He leans his back against the cold, stone wall and stares out a window at the twisting Labyrinth. He's never felt such turmoil. Even when Sarah had his magic and he was faced with the decision of whether or not to take it back from her, he always knew what the right decision was. He knew that he'd been defeated and the magic was hers by right; even if he hated to let it go. He knew that even if the magic was no longer his, he would still have Sarah by his side. Now, he can't see the right path. The words of the Labyrinth had the ring of truth, but they went so against his path for happiness that his very heart rebelled against them. After all, hadn't Sarah followed him willingly? Hadn't she wished for something incredible to happen to her, for her dreams to come true? He simply can't see how it wasn't the right thing to do for her. Sure, he had his own agenda, but he was convinced that the only way for her to be happy was to be with him, as she was before.

His mind still in a tumult, he conjures a crystal to see where Sarah is. He finds her outside, in the courtyard. There's no sound in the crystal, but he can see that she's talking to someone. Jareth's curiosity rises and he widens the view to take in Sarah's surroundings. What he sees makes his lip curl in anger. The dwarf is standing in front of her. The moment his large brown head comes into focus, Jareth disappears from the hallway.

**So the interest shown in this story hasn't overwhelmed me. Which is fine, I get that a sequel doesn't have the same amount of intrigue. That said, I'm probably going to shorten the plot even more than what I was planning. I'll still explain everything and give you guys plenty of insight into Jareth and Sarah, but it might not have a lot of value as a standalone story, more a very long epilogue.**

**I am glad that some of you are sticking with me on this, so let me say thank you!**

**Review please.**


	3. Sacrifice

Sarah sits on a stone bench surrounded by beauty. This entire day has been like a dream. The goblins are just as she imagined and the Labyrinth is even more incredible than she pictured it. The only thing that gives her pause in this new adventure is the Goblin King. Throughout the day, she'd been trying to draw connections between the book that led her here and the place itself. So far, everything has matched up completely. The Labyrinth, the Goblin City, the castle, they're all exactly the way she'd imagined, except for the king. He's the villain of the story, the one trying to thwart the hero at every turn. Only, Jareth doesn't seem to want to do that. He told her she could trust him and he showed her all around his kingdom, introduced her to his goblins, and kissed her. Sarah blushes at the memory of their kiss in the forest. She's never been kissed like that before. It felt wonderful, and she can't help but admit that she's starting to like the Goblin King, more than she'd wanted to.

The whole day she'd been looking for traits of the villain in him, but couldn't find any. That is, until their conversation outside the Escher room. She had to know why she was different, why he brought her here when she expected him to take her brother away. He was angry with her and told her things that raised more questions than they answered. He said that when she called him, it wasn't the first time… what did that mean? Sarah wraps her arms around her in the growing darkness and thinks about the enigmatic Goblin King. Just when she was getting some answers out of him, he disappeared. She wandered the castle looking for him, and finally ended up here. She passed a couple goblins, but none had seen the king. She figured that he's the one with magic; he could find her a lot easier than she could him, so she decided to stay out here.

Sarah was thinking over her odd situation when she heard footsteps approaching behind her. They were too heavy to be Jareth's so Sarah craned her neck to look over the hedges, curious as to who might approach her. She hoped it was a goblin- she found them extremely funny, and a smile spread over her face. When the dwarf from earlier that day rounded the corner, she was pleasantly surprised. She hadn't seen him since they met outside the Labyrinth's walls, and she wanted the chance to apologize for interrupting his work. When Hoggle spotted Sarah alone, conspicuously without Jareth, his eyes went wide with fright and he started darting glances from side to side, thinking it was a trap set by the king. Without a word to the girl, he turned his back to run. Unfortunately for him, he isn't very fast and Sarah caught his arm easily. "Wait!" she said.

"No, let me go!" he growled, fear clouding his eyes.

"Why are you afraid? I won't hurt you."

Hoggle ripped his arm out of Sarah's hold, but stood in front of her to say, "It ain't _you_ I'm scared of. I've dealt with humans before, ya know. But I am scared of Jareth, so if ya don't mind, I'd rather just tell him what I came to say and then get outta here before he tosses me in the bog."

"Why are you scared of him?"

"You don't know nuthin', do ya?" Hoggle chuckles breathlessly and says, "I ain't surprised. Never did meet a smart human. If you had any kind of sense at all, ya'd be just as scared of the king as I am."

Sarah frowns at Hoggle. "Why? He's been kind to me."

In his drive to explain why he's so scared of Jareth, Hoggle forgets that he's shaking in fear of the king at this very moment, and, of course, also forgets he's not supposed to be talking to Sarah at all. "Because. I been workin' for Jareth for years, and I ain't never seen him do anything kind—"

"Oh, I don't know about that. I have kept myself from killing you out of pure annoyance all these years. Isn't that kind?" Jareth's cruel, sarcastic voice shoots out of the darkness. Hoggle yelps and tries to run, but again, he's not very fast. Jareth bends down and grabs him by the collar of his shirt before he can take the second step. "Dear, dear. Headwart, I don't really see how I could have been any more clear." Jareth cocks his head and looks at Hoggle with mock sympathy. The dwarf stares back at him in terror. "I suppose the bog is the only way to ensure you follow your king's orders."

With Jareth holding him at arm's length, Hoggle has nothing to clutch to but the king's arm as he wails, "No, your majesty! Please, not the bog of eternal stench! I was comin' to find you, not to talk to her. Please!"

Sarah stands horrified at the scene unfolding in front of her. In his anger at the dwarf, Jareth has completely overlooked what Sarah must think of seeing him like this. His mind is focused on making the dwarf pay for his insolence. When he appeared in the courtyard and not only saw that the dwarf was talking to Sarah, but heard the things he was saying to her, his only thought was, _He'll ruin everything! _However, it never occurred to him that he's now performing the very act that he meant to stop the dwarf from committing. He's turning Sarah against him.

He straightens his back, lifting the dwarf off the ground. Hoggle kicks his legs madly, trying to escape even though he knows it's useless. "Hopefully after a nice dip in the bog, you will never disobey me again." As Jareth is about to snap his fingers and send the dwarf to the bog, two small hands grip the arm holding Hoggle off the ground and Jareth glances down to see Sarah trying to wrench his arm away from the dwarf.

"Let _go_ of him!" she yells, tears on her face. It's then that Jareth realizes what's happening. He looks back at the dwarf and sees fat tears rolling down his cheeks. He's still kicking wildly, beating at Jareth's grip on the back of his shirt. His stomach drops at what Sarah must think of him. With his mouth hanging open at his behavior, Jareth drops the dwarf, who falls to the ground in an exhausted heap, sobs wracking his body. Sarah immediately drops to her knees beside Hoggle, trying her best to comfort him. As soon as he catches his breath, Hoggle brushes Sarah's hand away and runs off toward the Labyrinth as fast as his legs can carry him, without a backward glance at his king or the girl.

Jareth's mind is frantically trying to think of ways to fix the mess he's gotten himself into. He takes a deep breath and fixes a wary stare on Sarah's back while she watches Hoggle retreat. Hesitantly, Jareth places a hand on her shoulder. As soon as she feels his touch, she whips around. "How could you do that?" she yells at him. "He was terrified! I've never seen anything so cruel!"

"Sarah, I can't have my subjects disobey—"

"What did he even do? All he was doing was talking to me!" Her face clears with realization. "You don't want him talking to me." Jareth clenches his jaw and focuses on keeping his breathing even. "Why wouldn't you want him to talk to me?"

"Because he has no right to! He never did!" Once again, Jareth's frustration spills over and clouds his judgment. He's always been so jealous of Sarah's easy affection and love for the dwarf, and finally he's had enough. Not even the loss of her previous attachment to Hoggle has severed her connection to him, while Jareth has to mind his every action and work every moment to try to awaken in Sarah some kind of love for him. "It isn't fair!" he shouts at her before slamming his mouth shut. The moment the words leave his mouth, he wishes he could take them back. He remembers his Sarah shouting those words at him and his recital of them opens the floodgates of his grief. Sarah's standing in front of him, but it's not _his_ Sarah. The Sarah he knew would also have been appalled at how he treated Hoggle, but she wouldn't have scolded him. All right, she would have scolded him, but he could have felt her love for him under her words. She scolded him because she wanted him to be better. She wanted to make him into a king that was loved, not just feared. The Sarah standing in front of him didn't want that, she was just concerned for the dwarf. The depth of difference between his Sarah and this one cuts him like a knife.

"What do you mean 'he never did'?" Sarah asks. Her face twists in confusion and she throws her hands in the air. "Jareth, tell me what is going on! There's obviously something I don't know, and I want to know what it is."

Jareth feels a calm wash over him as he makes his decision. He can't do this anymore, he'll make her hate him if he keeps lying to her. Without a word, he walks over to the stone bench and sits down. As he looks at the fountain in front of him, tears fill his eyes. This was the very spot where Sarah first told him she loved him, the day before she died. Lost in memories, he doesn't hear Sarah sit beside him. He starts a little as he hears her voice next to him. "Please tell me," she whispers.

"Will you hate me for it?" Jareth speaks so softly Sarah isn't sure of what she heard. He continues, "I suppose, if I love you, I should let you decide… " Sarah doesn't know if he's even talking to her anymore, he sounds so distant. He raises his voice slightly and turns to her to say, "Remember the story I told you in the forest?" She nods. "Remember the girl?" Again, she nods. Jareth pauses, thinking. He thinks about how much he loved Sarah, how he knew in his very soul that he would have given anything for her, done anything to make her happy. Then, when he did sacrifice himself for her, fate seemed determined to ruin it. He lived, and she died. The Labyrinth thinks it was all a grand scheme to make him a better king, forcing him to fall so deeply in love with the girl and then force him to lose her. So that he could pour his love for Sarah into his kingdom.

Then why allow him to bring her back? Was it a test? He didn't have time to think about what he was doing, the magic seemed to rearrange time on its own. He thinks it must have been a test. He couldn't help his grief, and it was his grief that stirred his magic to action. But when she wished her brother away, should he have lured her down here? His mind rebels and shouts at him _Of course- she loves you! _Only she doesn't, she doesn't love him. She would have been fine if he'd left her, never known the love that she lost. As Jareth looks into her eyes, he knows that everything the Labyrinth said was true. He only took her because he wanted her to love him again, because he didn't want to lose her. He didn't want to face eternity alone, knowing that she was alive, even if it was the best path for her. Of everything he's done, taking her from her room last night was the most selfish. He doesn't even think of them as the same woman. His Sarah was a true queen, and this Sarah is a girl walking in a dream world. She wants to stay in this world, not to have a life, but to escape from one.

Is it selfish to unburden himself with their story? To weigh her young mind with knowing that she was in love and then lost that love, and also her life? Would she feel obligated? For a moment, Jareth thinks that as long as she stays with him, it doesn't matter if she feels obligated or not. Before long, the guilt hits him again and he knows that even if she grows to love him, it won't be the same. It can't be, because she wouldn't have made the decision herself. She would always feel trapped, and that's never what he wanted. He wanted her to love him of her own free will.

Sarah watches as the conflict plays itself out on Jareth's face. He's been silent so long she thinks he's forgotten that she's sitting here. "Jareth?" she says.

He raises his eyes to hers and her heart breaks at the sadness there. He shakes his head and whispers, "I'm so sorry, Sarah. You gave me a great gift and I ruined it… because I wasn't strong enough to let you go. Please forgive me for that, and for what I'm about to tell you."

Sarah is more confused than ever, but she listens to Jareth's words in silence. "It's okay," she whispers, because he seems to need to hear it.

He drops his eyes to the ground. "When I lost her, it ripped me apart. I watched her disappear into the flames at her funeral and… I couldn't take it. The grief overwhelmed me… every fiber of my being wished to take back everything that had happened. I desired nothing more than to turn back time, to make it so that I'd never taken her brother when she asked me to. I told you the way my magic works? When it felt my grief, it granted me my wish. Without my even knowing, the goblin magic tore the fabric of time to try to save me from my anguish. It did what I desired. I hadn't even known it was possible." He lifts his weary eyes to stare into her wide ones. "Sarah, when you wished Toby away last night, it wasn't the first time." He swallows the guilt rising up in him and says, "My love's name was Sarah Williams. That's why I've treated you different… I'm in love with you. Or rather, the woman you might have become."

Sarah's mouth drops open and she leans back to stare at him. Her mind is racing too fast for her to focus on one thing at a time. Denial jumps forward, sure and quick, but she dismisses it just as quickly. She knows that what he's saying is possible- he's the Goblin King. She knows how powerful his magic can be. Mostly, she can't reconcile the woman he described with the image she has of herself. It's a lot to take in, knowing that you lived a whole other life. As she thinks about everything she's supposedly done, she starts to feel nervous. What is Jareth expecting? She isn't that person… does he want her to be? Of course he does, or he wouldn't have brought her here. Suddenly she's feeling claustrophobic. Does he want to marry her? She doesn't even know him! There are things she wants to do and see before she has to get married. She saw this trip as an adventure, not an engagement.

Jareth studies Sarah for any signs of panic. She's breathing hard, but she's still sitting next to him, which he thinks must be a good sign. He's about to ask her how she's taking it when she turns to look at him again, and her eyes are filled with suspicion. "So what do you expect of me?" she asks quickly.

He jerks back in surprise. "I—I just… I don't expect anything."

"Then why did you bring me here? You said you did it because you were being selfish, so you must have wanted something from me." Jareth's shocked at the anger in her tone. "What? Did you want me to marry you? You wanted to trap me down here and live out your fantasy?"

He stares at her with his mouth hanging open. Yes, he did want to marry her, but not if she doesn't love him. He was getting angry at her for not even trying to understand. He was about to retort until he remembered why he told her in the first place. "I'm sorry you feel that way," he said calmly. "I only wanted to offer an explanation for my actions. I would never trap you here, or anywhere. I hoped you would stay, but I could never force you."

Sarah could hear the sincerity in his voice, and she feels herself calming down. She tries to see the situation from his perspective. He lost the love of his life, was it so wrong for him to try to get her back? Even though she doesn't love him, she could see how a person could. If those things really happened the way he said they did, she could see how she fell in love with him. It's hard to remain unaffected when a man literally rips the fabric of time to save your life. Sarah heaves a great sigh. "I'm sorry," she says. "I'm so sorry for what you've been through, Jareth. I wish you so much happiness, but…"

Jareth turns his head away and looks toward the fountain again. "But you don't love me," he says levelly.

Sarah hunches her shoulders and says desperately, "I just don't know you. I'm sorry…" She watches his face twist in pain and says quickly, "Maybe if I stayed, if I got to know you better."

Jareth chuckles. "You've always had a compassionate and sacrificing nature, especially toward us goblins. I never understood it until now." He turns to face her with a small smile on his face. "No, Sarah. I won't have you sacrifice yourself again. From now on, I want you to do only what you want to. You have no obligation to me, or anyone… and you don't want to stay." The words are like knives in Jareth's heart, but he knows they're the truth. He thought the biggest sacrifice he could make was to die so that Sarah could live, but it wasn't. This is even more painful than that had been. He knew then that once he died, he wouldn't have to endure the pain of losing her. Even that sacrifice had selfishness at its root. This one, letting her go, benefits no one but Sarah. He's subjecting himself to the agony of knowing she doesn't love him, and to being without her forever.

Sarah is silent at his words. She knows she's hurting him, and she would stay to keep from causing him so much pain. "No, I love it here. This is what I always wanted, I've always wanted to know this is real."

"You do know it, no one can take that from you. You'll always have this place, Sarah… but it's not the only place you can have. I want you to know what you would be giving up if you stayed. There's an entire world up there that you haven't seen."

Jareth reaches over and takes Sarah's hand in his gloved one. He stands, lifting her up with him, and takes hold of her other hand, too. He runs his thumbs along her knuckles and wonders how he'll ever let her go… but he has to let her go. He closes his eyes and when he opens them, they're back in Sarah's bedroom. When she looks around and sees where they are, a tear falls from her eye. Jareth raises a hand to wipe it away. "Don't cry, Sarah… I won't allow it." Last time he said those words, she was crying because she was leaving him. Now, she's crying because she's leaving her dreams.

She looks so lost as she stares at the childish toys that line the walls. "Are you sure?" she asks Jareth.

Must she torture him? He closes his eyes to hide his agony and says, "I'll always love you, Sarah. Which means that I will do whatever is best for you." He steels his resolve and opens his eyes. She looks at him for a moment before throwing her arms around his waist and burying her head in his chest.

"Thank you," she whispers.

He can't take any more. He reaches back to unclasp her hands and steps away from her. Without looking away from her, he steps back to the window and flicks his wrist, causing the window to open. The raging wind outside blows rain into the room. He turns and is about to shift into his owl form when Sarah says, "Jareth, wait!" He turns to see her rush towards him and she flings her arms around his neck, bringing his head down to lock his lips against hers. He's lost to her the moment their lips touch and he holds her tight against him as their mouths move violently together. For a moment, he's back in the forest with his Sarah just before he has to go into the mountains to die. This is the same kiss, full of regret and the pain of separation. He knows nothing has changed, that she still doesn't love him the way he loves her. She's giving him a gift. The gift of reliving the love he lost. His mouth slows before hers does, and for a while they just stand there, holding each other. Jareth finally stops stroking her hair and gently pushes her away from him.

He looks into her eyes for a long time before he turns, pacing a hand on the window frame. He looks out at the stormy night and prepares to leave. He catches her reflection in the upper window. She looks so torn. Without allowing himself time to think about it, Jareth rolls his wrist, conjuring a crystal. He turns back to Sarah, holding the crystal up. "Should you ever need me…" he says.

She gives him a small smile. "I'll call." He places the crystal on her desk and turns back to the window, shifting into owl form and flying into the night. Sarah runs to the window and watches as the owl disappears into the darkness, her hair dripping with rain.

**Epilogue is coming soon. **

**I love seeing the favs and follows, but the reviews are most helpful!**


	4. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Sarah blows out the twenty candles on her cake in two tries, bathing the dining room in darkness. Her dad and Karen clap and Toby squeals with laughter before the lights are turned on again. Really, Sarah did this for Toby. When she moved out of her father's house, she honestly hadn't known if she was coming back. She hadn't truly felt a part of this family ever since Karen joined it. She loves her father, but doesn't feel a connection to him anymore. So, two months after her eighteenth birthday, she moved to an apartment in the city and got a job in a coffee shop. Sometimes she cries at how cliché her life has become. Still, she would have followed through when she promised herself that her father and stepmother blew any chance of having her in their lives, on a regular basis, at least… She couldn't stay away from Toby, though. The boy loves his big sister like a hero and Sarah couldn't help but let him steal her heart.

Once everyone has eaten a slice of cake, it's time for presents. Her father and Karen give her a charm bracelet. Sarah loves jewelry and it would have been a great gift if it weren't from Tiffany's. She's going to have to be content with the one charm that's on it already because she can't afford to buy more. She smirks down at it and thinks what a smart gift it is. Now her father doesn't have to think about what to get her for the next few holidays and birthdays. She forces a smile and tells them both how beautiful it is.

Toby has been waiting patiently next to her chair with his newspaper-wrapped present partially hidden behind his back. Once Sarah accepts a hug from Karen, Toby holds out his gift with a "Ta da!" Sarah gives him a smile from her heart and gently takes the gift from his hands. As she tears open the newspaper, she finds a macaroni necklace and a drawing on a piece of cardboard, another Toby Original.

"Oh, thank you, Toby! This is a beautiful present." Sarah pulls the macaroni necklace over her head and focuses on the drawing, which is of a unicorn. Or at least, Sarah thinks that's what it is. It has a horn, at any rate. Sarah hasn't wasted any time in telling Toby all the best bedtime stories, and he likes unicorns above all other magical creatures right now. She hauls Toby in for a bone-crushing hug, which he returns with every bit of strength his little body has, and thanks him again for his gift. "It's going right on my fridge," she says. When Toby pulls away, he opens his mouth to let a huge yawn escape.

"Time for bed, little man," her father tells the boy.

"I want Sarah to take me." Toby pouts up at his daddy.

"Sarah's had a long day of travel, Tobes—"

"No, I'd like to," Sarah interrupts. She holds her hand out to her little brother. "Come on, Mopey. Let's go get you ready for bed." Leaving Karen to clean up the mess in the dining room, she lets Toby drag her upstairs, making her lift him up every other step by his hand.

Once his teeth are brushed and his face washed, Sarah tucks Toby into his racecar-shaped bed. Once he's settled, she climbs in next to him and leans back against the headboard. He buries his head into her side and sticks his thumb in his mouth. Sarah smiles down at him and says, "Which story do you want to hear tonight? The one about Robin Hood?" He shakes his head. "How about the one with the evil Shadow Queen?"

Toby heaves a very loud sigh and whines, "Don't you know any new ones?"

She snorts and says sarcastically, "Oh, I'm so sorry to bore you. Let's see…" Sarah wracks her mind for a story she hasn't told him yet. Sarah's mind floats back to that magical night. She still can't quite decide if it was a dream or not… a handsome king who took her to a make-believe world and told her an unbelievable story. "Have I ever told you the story about the Labyrinth?"

"What's that?"

"It's a maze. You see, when a child is being particularly misbehaved," she looks down at Toby menacingly, but tickles his back, making him shriek and laugh, "you can wish that child away to the goblins. Well, one night a girl was forced to babysit a very noisy and stubborn baby. She hated having to babysit, so she called upon the king of the goblins to take the baby away. What do you think happened?"

"He took it?" Toby stares up at her in rapture.

"He took it! Only once the baby was gone, the girl realized what a terrible mistake she'd made. She begged the king to give the baby back, but he wouldn't. He told her that the only way to get him back was to make her way through the Labyrinth to his castle beyond the Goblin City…" Sarah tells Toby the story that Jareth told her that night so long ago. Toby falls asleep when she gets to the part about the ballroom. She smiles down at him. _I suppose that part wouldn't be as exciting to a five-year-old boy. _Sarah climbs carefully out of his bed and bends to pull the covers closer around him before kissing his forehead and stealing silently out of the room. She leaves his door open a crack to ward off the monsters. She crosses the hall and steps unwillingly into her room, locking the door behind her out of habit.

Once away from Toby, Sarah feels that creeping emptiness threaten her again. It's been five years since she caught a glimpse of her fantasies and it's been five years since she rejected them. No, she didn't reject them. Jareth was right- she couldn't have stayed with him. After he left her room that night, she cried for hours, but more because she felt horribly selfish. He loved her, and she didn't care enough to stay with him. But, as she thought about what he did for her, she grew to treasure his gift. He gave her a chance to live her life the way she wanted to. Only, she never really lived. She left home when she was eighteen, and she thought she would live an exciting and fulfilling life, but she hasn't. She went to the city to try to be an actress like her mother, but she hated the long hours of rehearsing and they didn't allow her any creative input. She met men and had boyfriends, but none of them felt… real to her. Even once away from her disastrous high school years, she never felt like she fit in.

Sarah stands in the middle of her old room, thinking. It looks exactly as it did when she left, except for some bare spots where she took a few trinkets. There were also a few boxes that Karen has shoved in here for storage. Otherwise, it was identical to the room that Jareth flew out of five years ago. For about a year after he left, Sarah could think of nothing but the adventure she'd had that night, about the story Jareth told her. She researched everything to do with goblin legends and the fae and spent her time jotting down notes about her own foray into the Underground. Of course, this made her even more of an outcast at school. Her junior year in high school, she decided to try to forget what had happened. After all, Jareth had told her he wanted her to live, explore the world. She couldn't do that if she was mentally stuck Underground. So, for two years she didn't think about it. She left her room and her childhood and ran for the city, thinking only of an adventure in this world. She started to make friends and meet boys. She went to parties and toured colleges. Even in her new adult life, Sarah never felt truly happy. It was only when she started to crave a relationship with Toby that her mind started to wander back into fantasies. That emptiness inside her started to fill. Sarah slowly walks to her closet and pulls the chain to turn on the light bulb on the ceiling. She stands on her tiptoes and reaches for a dust-covered, wooden box on the shelf. Brushing the dust off, she moves to sit on the edge of her bed and places the small box on her lap. She undoes the clasp on the front of it, and the hinges creak from disuse as she lifts the lid. She holds her breath in anticipation. Resting on the red velvet cushion that she made is the crystal Jareth gave her. She'd almost convinced herself that she made the whole encounter up until she opened her closet last year and found the box she placed there four years prior.

Afraid to touch it, Sarah just stares down at this piece of proof that she's not crazy. She didn't just imagine him, or his world. It was real. It was wonderful. Ever since the day she rediscovered this box, her mind could focus on nothing but her time Underground, brief though it was. She wanted to live a normal, exciting, human life like he'd said, but she just couldn't. Every night brought dreams of his world, but mostly they were dreams of him. She couldn't enjoy her life because she knows there's something better. Why would she want to be normal when her life could be magical? Lightly, she runs her fingers along the velvet cushion, daringly close to the crystal. She's on the verge. She hates living like this; she wants something more out of life. She's about to take hold of the crystal when Toby's face swims to the front of her mind. What if she can't come back? What if her words won't allow her to see Toby again? He loves her, and she loves him. She can't leave him, not when she just got him back. Her fingers inch away from the crystal again. What's to say Jareth even wants her to come back, anyway? It's been five years since she's seen him. If what he told her is true, it's been even longer for him. What if he hates her for leaving? She can certainly understand if he does. Anyway, he told her to call if she _needs_ him. Did he mean, "in case of emergencies, dial Jareth"?

Sarah takes a deep breath before slamming the lid closed. She shuts her eyes and shakes her head at herself. Of course, she shouldn't call him. There are too many uncertainties and she wasn't going to be the one to ruin things again… Then again, what's the alternative? She'd go on living in this world, going to work every day, and looking at brochures for colleges she would never seriously consider. She'd see Toby maybe once a week and keep living with the emptiness. She'd have dreams of a handsome king and a magical place, but that would be it. It would never go further than dreams.

Sarah flings open the lid of the box again and before she can think about it too much, she lifts the crystal into her hands. She was surprised by how normal it felt; it could have just been a ball of glass… but she knew better. Holding the crystal in front of her face, she looks into it and says uncertainly, "Jareth?" The crystal pops like a bubble in her hand and her heart races as she waits for him.

She sits there staring at her empty hand for an eternity. She doesn't know what to expect, but she expected _something. _She drops her hand in her lap. To her shame, she feels tears spring to her eyes. Disappointment rushes through her, sharpened by her previous certainty that her life was about to change. She feels so stupid. After roughly dropping the box onto her desk, she dresses for bed and shoves the tears off her face. It takes a long time for her to fall asleep, but she finally does, after a good deal of shameful tears.

""""

A quick glance into his crystal shows him that Sarah's finally fallen into a deep sleep. With a deep, calming breath, he lets his magic take him to her bedroom. His eyes are immediately glued to her face. She's curled up on her side, her cheek pressed into the pillow. The blanket is pulled up under her chin. He silently walks to her bedside and crouches in front of her, one hand on the spread where it falls over the edge of the bed. The woman she's become looks a little ridiculous curled up in this little girl's pink, frilly bed. He pulls off his gloves and allows himself to trace a fingertip along her cheekbone. Gods, but she's beautiful. She's the Sarah he remembers waking up next to. The one he saw become a queen.

Jareth had been writing a letter to the Fae King when he heard Sarah's voice. He was so surprised that he thought he felt his heart actually stop for a moment. His mouth dropped open and tears sprang unbidden to his eyes at the sound of her calling for him. It'd been twelve years. Twelve long years since he said goodbye to her. He'd done as he promised- he left her alone. He didn't even check on her through the crystal, letting her live out her life completely without interference on his part. He was true to his word, and left her to live her life without him.

He was all shock when she finally called, and he found that he couldn't face her. Not that he didn't want to, but he didn't trust his conduct. He couldn't go to her until he was sure of his behavior. He watched her through his crystal until she was asleep, so he could adjust to the idea of being in the same room with her after all this time. He almost gave in when he saw that she was crying in her disappointment, but convinced himself against it. The Labyrinth would be proud of his impulse control.

Jareth takes his finger from her skin and just sits there, looking at her. Should he wake her? It took so much effort for her to fall asleep. He's just decided to let her rest when she sighs and her eyelids slide open. Her eyes lock on Jareth, but otherwise she stays still. He tries his best to keep his voice from shaking as he whispers, "Hello, Precious." Tentatively, he reaches out to place his hand against her cheek. She turns her head to press against his palm and he sighs at the feeling.

"I've had this dream already," she murmurs, her eyes sliding closed again.

Jareth chuckles. "So have I, Sarah."

At the sound of his voice, Sarah's eyes snap open as she realizes that she's no longer asleep. She bolts upright, holding one hand against her head in surprise. Jareth lets his hand fall to rest on the bed next to her. He smiles at the disheveled state she's in. Her hair is a mess, and her shirt is twisted almost backwards, exposing some of her midriff, which his eyes do not fail to take in. As she stares at him in shock, he allows himself a moment of hope.

"You're really here," she whispers.

He slowly rises to his feet and moves to sit on the bed next to her, giving her every chance to tell him to stop, which she doesn't even consider. "You called for me," he says.

"I… I needed you." As scared as she is to admit this, Sarah needs him to know that her calling him wasn't just a passing inclination.

He didn't expect that. His eyebrows draw together as he says, "Are you in danger?"

Sarah didn't even hear what he said. She's consumed with staring at him. He's just as she remembered, not a hair out of place. Tight, black pants, white poets shirt, leather riding boots, wild blond hair. He might have stepped out of one of her dreams. Though, in her dreams, he's usually not wearing quite so many clothes. She blushes at the thought and Jareth's expression clears of confusion. A smirk stretches the corner of his mouth, now. He knows that blush.

"Why did you call me?" he asks with that knowing smile.

Suddenly, her eyes fill with tears. "I missed you so much," she chokes out. Before he could offer any surprised words of comfort, she throws her arms around his neck and buries her face in his hair. Jareth is shocked that she would show this much affection for him. After all, she only knew him for one night before he left her here. He tentatively puts his arms around her, but clenches his jaw against the desire to hold her close. Though Jareth is euphoric at her words and being able to fold her in his arms at last, his scarred heart reminds him to stay cautious. This woman has ripped him apart more times than he'd care to mention, and he doesn't allow himself to hope that she means to love him again. Her tears dry as the myriad of emotions calm within her. He's here, he's here and she's holding him. Finally, no more useless dreaming. No more shame at clinging to childish fantasies, no more pretending, and definitely no more wandering through life half alive.

He strokes her hair as he whispers, "You barely know me, Sarah."

Sarah pulls back slightly at his words, but keeps her hands on his shoulders. She searches his face and in the moonlight can see the pain in his eyes. Her brows draw together in confusion. Suddenly all those years of rejection by her peers seep into her mind and she thinks he feels sorry for her… because he's about to tell her that he's not in love with her anymore. He's going to tell her he doesn't want her. Her hands fall away from him and she hangs her head. "I'm sorry," she whispers. Her cheeks burn red and her hands fidget with the blanket at her feet. "I thought… I don't know. I hoped anyway…" she trails off as another tear falls from her face and falls onto the blanket.

Jareth reaches out to place a finger under her chin. He lifts her face and his mouth drops at the hopelessness there. "Why are you crying?" he asks, a little irritated at, again, not being able to guess what she's feeling. Twelve years and he still knows nothing about her. His resolve against her melts as she closes her eyes to escape his searching stare. He moves to place his hand against her face again, but she stops him.

"You don't have to pretend," she says, her eyes still closed. "You don't owe me anything. It was stupid of me to expect—"

"Sarah, open your eyes," he growls. Her eyes snap open in response. He continues in the same angry tone, "I've not been able to look at your eyes for twelve years, I won't have you hide them from me now." He watches as her confusion is replaced by hope and he thinks, _damn it to hell._ He grasps either side of her face and meets her lips with a soft, but urgent kiss. Sarah's hands grasp his wrists again, and he savors the kiss, knowing she'll pull his hands away and tell him to stop at any second. Only, she doesn't. She moves her lips skillfully against his just as urgently. Her hands fall from his wrists to grip his shirt where it falls across his hips on either side. He groans as the last of his defenses come crashing down at her onslaught.

He thought time would bring back the Sarah he knew, but it didn't. This Sarah is old enough, and practiced enough, to know lust when she feels it. This isn't a girl who was forced to grow up quickly, this is a woman grown. As she traces her tongue across his lips, he can tell that she's practiced. While jealousy burns through him at the thought of her kissing another man, she's driving him wild. She catches his bottom lip in her teeth and he can't help but gasp at this new, confident Sarah. A slender hand grips the back of his neck and she lets herself fall backwards into her pillow, letting her body weight pull him down with her. She simultaneously brings up her legs on either side of him, trapping him against her. His hand moves to trace her bare thigh and the other wraps itself in her hair as his lips attack hers again.

Sarah is on fire. She hasn't been with anyone in a long time, and no one has ever made her feel like this. As Jareth's hand traces a path from her knee, up her thigh, and to her waist, pulling her shirt up with it, she can't help but gasp against his mouth. In some remote corner of her mind, she wonders if this is so intense because of the life she's already shared with him. Maybe once two people are in love, not even time can break them apart. Or maybe it's just because he's a gorgeous, powerful, magical king and he's kissing her like she's a drink of water for a man dying of thirst. Either way, she doesn't want this to ever end.

Jareth kisses along her jaw and down her neck to bite at the spot where her neck meets her shoulder. This was a favorite spot of hers before and he smiles against her skin when he hears her moan. _So, some things haven't changed._ He thrusts his hips to press himself into her at the same time he bites the spot again and her nails rake down his back as she gasps. Her legs wrap around his hips as she holds him against her most intimate place. He closes his eyes and wonders at this turn in his life. Sarah, his Sarah, is with him. She called him to her and is begging him with her body to make love to her. This is what he's always wanted, but never expected to receive again. He kisses her skin reverently and knows that he can never give her up again. He's lost in her.

A hesitant knock at Sarah's door shoves them into reality like a splash of cold water. They freeze, her legs around his waist and his face in her neck. A child's voice outside the door calls, "Sarah? Can you sleep in my room with me? I'm scared."

Sarah sighs and pushes at Jareth's shoulders. Very reluctantly, Jareth crawls backward toward her feet, stopping once to place a quick kiss against her stomach. She giggles softly and whispers, "Don't let him see you. I really don't want to have to explain."

Jareth smirks, but steps back into the shadows. Sarah stands in front of the door for a moment, straightening her clothes and hair. She takes a few deep breaths before opening the door to see Toby standing there in his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles pajamas. As soon as he sees her, he says, "I had a bad dream."

Sarah kneels down so he doesn't have to look up. "What was the dream about?"

"Goblins. I think from the story," he says, sticking his thumb in his mouth.

"Goblins? Oh, Toby, goblins are nothing to be afraid of," says Sarah. Jareth smiles from behind the door.

"But how do you know?" the boy asks.

Sarah looks up and down the hall before whispering, "Can you keep a secret?" He nods at her. "I've met a few goblins. They're actually kind of funny. They run around, falling everywhere, and they talk all fast and garbled. It isn't hard to outsmart a goblin. A lot of them are nice, anyway."

The boy's eyes go wide and his thumb falls away from his mouth. "You've met them?" he breathes.

"Mhm." She smiles.

Toby looks at her in amazement before his eyes narrow. "Are you making it up?" he asks suspiciously.

Sarah laughs. "No, I promise I've met them."

"I still don't believe you…" Toby says.

Sarah considers him for a moment before sighing softly. "Toby… can you keep an even bigger secret?" The boy nods again. "I want you to meet someone," she says. Sarah flips on her bedroom light and takes a step back so that Toby can enter the room. She closes the door softly behind him, revealing a very surprised-looking Jareth.

At the sight of the man, Toby's eyes go wide and he gasps in fright. He scurries back toward the window and says, "There's a man there, Sarah!"

Sarah laughs and says, "I know, Toby. I invited him." She holds out her hand to Jareth, who steps forward and takes her hand with a cautious expression on his face. Once Jareth is by her side, Sarah holds out her other hand to Toby, who moves forward warily to take it, keeping as much distance between him and Jareth as possible.

"He dresses funny," Toby whispers loudly to Sarah, who snorts with laughter. Jareth's eyebrows draw together and his offended expression makes Sarah shake her head and laugh even harder.

"I'm sorry," she tells him with a smile.

"No, you're not," he says, but he gives her a small smile before crouching down in front of Toby. "Hello, Toby. Do you know who I am?" Toby takes half a step back so that he's half-hidden behind Sarah's legs. His thumb goes back into his mouth as he shakes his head. "I'm the Goblin King," Jareth says with a smile.

"There's no such thing," Toby whispers.

"Oh, but there is. Just ask your sister." Toby looks up at Sarah, who nods down at him.

Toby looks back at Jareth with wonderment in his eyes. "Then, you can do magic?"

Instead of answering, Jareth waves his hand in front of Toby's face to produce a crystal. The boy's jaw drops open and he inches out from behind Sarah. Jareth smirks and twists the crystal so that it becomes a single red rose. He holds it out to Toby, who looks up at Sarah, asking permission.

"It's alright, Toby," she says.

Toby takes the rose from Jareth's fingers and stares at it in wonder. "Do you live in a castle?" he breathes.

Jareth chuckles. "Yes."

Toby unleashes a barrage of questions on Jareth, who patiently answers them. Soon, Toby yawns despite his best efforts. Sarah tells him he has to go to sleep now that his fears of goblins have been taken care of. Toby whines and begs to stay awake to talk to the king some more, but Sarah is firm. Jareth smiles at the boy and says, "Sleep well, Toby." Toby throws his arms around Jareth's neck, surprising both Jareth and Sarah with the sudden affection. Hesitantly, Jareth returns the hug.

"Please don't leave, okay?" The boy says.

Jareth looks up to Sarah for direction, but is again shocked to see the tears in her eyes. She reaches down to disentangle Toby from Jareth's arms and holds him close against her instead. As she stands, she lifts Toby up with her so that he can wrap around her. The boy's head falls onto his sister's shoulder. "Toby," she murmurs. "You know how much I love you, right?"

"Love you, too, Sarah."

Her eyes close and Jareth stands up to see her face better. He can't understand what it is that's making her cry. Sarah takes a deep, shaking breath and says, "I might not see you for a long time, Tobes."

Toby's arms tighten around her neck and he whines, "Why?"

"I'm going to stay with Jareth, Toby. I love him." Her eyes open to meet Jareth's as his heart sings with at her words. He tries to control himself, knowing that she probably wouldn't like her brother to see Jareth kiss her senseless.

The boy jerks back to look at his sister in horror. "No! Can't I go with?"

Sarah's face tightens at his words. "I would love that, Toby, but you can't. You have to stay here and take care of mom and dad. They wouldn't be able to live without you."

"But I want to go with you!" Toby starts crying.

"I know, baby, I know," Sarah murmurs.

Jareth looks at the siblings in confusion. "What are you two talking about?" he asks.

Sarah glares at him through her tears. "I'm not in the mood to joke, Jareth."

Jareth reaches around Toby to place a hand against her face. "I only want to ask why you think you wouldn't be able to see young Toby whenever you wish. Do you imagine that I mean to hold you prisoner, Precious?"

Sarah's face fills with confusion. "I thought—"

"Sarah, I'm not a villain," he says with a smirk. "Not anymore, at least. You will be able to visit your home whenever you wish."

Sarah beams at him and Jareth can't help it. He leans around Toby and kisses her, just managing to keep it chaste. Toby leans away from them and says, "Yuck!" Jareth and Sarah laugh at the sound. She lets Toby drop to the floor, and all three of them cross the hall to Toby's room. She tucks him in, promising to visit soon, and gives him another giant hug before kissing his forehead. She takes the rose from his small hand and places it on his nightstand. Toby tells his sister that he loves her and gives her a kiss on the cheek. Toby waves at Jareth once more before turning his back to them and closing his eyes. As soon as Sarah's bedroom door closes behind them, Jareth takes Sarah in his arms and kisses her for all he's worth.

"Are you sure you want this?" he whispers against her lips. Sometimes he still shocks himself when he asks questions like this. The Labyrinth was right when she said that Sarah has changed him.

Sarah sighs and holds him closer. "All I know," she murmurs, "is that I spent the last five years knowing that a part of me was missing. I tried to live my life like a normal person, but I couldn't. Even before I knew what it meant, I missed you so much it hurt… You were wrong before, you know."

Smiling softly, he says, "Was I?"

He feels her nod against his chest. "You said I could visit _home_ whenever I wanted, but this isn't home for me, it never really was. I think I was always meant to be with you." She pulls back to look into his eyes as she says, "Take me home, Jareth."

Jareth wonders how he'll ever save himself from her. Then again, even feeling the danger he's in from this woman, he knows he would never trade it. She's taken him to the brink and pushed him off the edge of the world, but she also saved him more times than he even knows. His kingdom is flourishing, and his magic has never been stronger. The only thing that was ever missing from his life is now in his arms. Sarah Williams, who tore him down so that she could build him back up. She's his equal in every way, and he loves her for it. He cradles her face in his hands as he places a kiss against her forehead. "Thank you, Sarah," he says. Looking into her beautiful green eyes, he lets his magic unfurl and take them both home.

**THE END.**

**So ends my (kinda) series When the World Falls Down! I'm glad now that I did end up shortening this sequel. As much as I loved writing this story, I'm anxious to move on to something new. **

**I hope you were satisfied by this story. I know it was sickly sweet, but they deserve it after all they've been through!**

**I want to thank everyone who read my story, and most especially those of you who reviewed. is such a great place to practice your writing, but it's kind of useless if people don't tell you what's working/ not working in your story. So, thank you guys for helping me become a better writer. I've got two other stories started, but I'm not sure when they'll be published. Keep an eye out and thanks again!**


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